European markets closed broadly lower on Wednesday after a cautious session, even as the U.K. market settled at multi-week high thanks to data showing a sharp drop in inflation in September. Investors looked ahead to the European Central Bank’s policy announcement on Thursday for directional cues.
UK inflation fell below the 2% target and also hit the lowest in more than three years in September, piling pressure on the Bank of England to ease policy at the November meeting. Consumer price inflation weakened more-than-expected to 1.7% in September from 2.2% in August, the Office for National Statistics said.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.19%. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 closed lower by 0.27% and 0.4%, respectively. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.97% to a six-week high. Switzerland’s SMI ended lower by 0.21%.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands and Russia ended weak.
Austria, Greece, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher, while Iceland ended flat.
In the UK market, Whitbread climbed more than 6%. Barratt Developments, Entain, Severn Trent, Endeavour Mining, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Melrose Industries, United Utilities and Ashtead Group gained 3 to 5%.
Land Securities, Legal & General, JD Sports Fashion, LondonMetric Property, British Land, IAG, Vodafone Group, Howden Joinery and DCC also moved up sharply. Antofagasta gained about 1.3% after reporting a 15% rise in third-quarter copper output.
Rentokil Initial, Admiral Group and Informa lost 2 to 2.6%. Beazley, Sainsbury (J) and Mondi also closed weak.
In the German market, Adidas closed more than 6% down, despite raising its full-year sales and profit guidance.
Sartorius ended down 4%. Qiagen, Hannover Rueck, Merck, Symrise, Brenntag, Porsche and Siemens lost 1 to 2%.
Puma rallied more than 3.5%. MTU Aero Engines closed up 1.6%. Vonovia, Deutsche Bank, Siemens Energy, Henkel, BASF, E.ON, Deutsche Telekom and SAP gained 0.4 to 1.2%.
In the French market, LVMH tumbled 3.7% after sales of fashion and leather goods unexpectedly fell at its biggest unit for the first time since 2020.
L’Oreal ended down 2.1%, while Hermes International and Carrefour closed lower by 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively.
Teleperformance soared more than 11%. Renault and Accor both gained nearly 2%. Orange, Thales, BNP Paribas and Bouygues also closed notably higher.
ASML Holding slumped more than 5% after the semiconductor equipment maker announced deep cuts to its 2025 sales forecast.
European Stocks Closed Broadly Lower
2024-10-16 17:02:24
